Bill Evans

William John "Bill" Evans (Born Aug 16, 1929 in Plainfield, NJ - Died Sep 15, 1980 in New York, NY) is name-checked on the cover of "Freak Out!" (1966) under the heading "These People Have Contributed Materially In Many Ways To Make Our Music What It Is. Please Do Not Hold It Against Them". He was a jazz musician - a classically-trained pianist - whose delicate, introspective style established him as one of the few major white innovators in jazz history. Beginning in 1955, he played with George Russell, Charles Mingus (also name-checked on the cover of "Freak Out!") and Miles Davis, collaborating on the latter's historic 1959 recording "Kind of Blue." From 1961 until his death, he led a succession of highly interactive trios.